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Northeastern Pennsylvania
hockey fans got the best gift
they could ask for on Dec. 13,
1994 when American Hockey
League president David Andrews guaranteed a hockey
team to the Luzerne County
Convention Center Authority.
Since taking the ice in October 1999, the expansion Penguins have turned into one of
the most successful franchises
in the AHL.
The team was third in attendance each of its first two
seasons, averaging more than
7,600 the first season and more
than 8,250 this season. Hard to
imagine, given the resounding
success of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton franchise, that there
was ever a doubt that the team
would have a place to play.
But there was. Luzerne
County voters rejected by 48
votes a referendum in 1995 to
approve arena financing.
State Rep. Kevin Blaum
credits Gov. Robert P. Casey
with saving the arena project
with his promise of $20 million
in state funds.
“He believed in Northeast
Pennsylvania,” Blaum said.
“What other governor would
have ever given us $20 million
to build this building? In my
experience, nobody would.”
First Union Bank agreed to
put its financial support behind the project, and with it,
the AHL guaranteed the provisional franchise.
The lack of referendum support probably cost $3 million
to $4 million, Blaum estimates,
and some details had to be
scaled back.
“Dramatic changes had to
be made to the arena,” Blaum
said. “But we watched every
penny and delivered what we
think is the nicest building in
the league.”
Three NHL teams made offers to bring a team to the
First Union Arena at Casey
Plaza. Blaum said Pittsburgh
got the franchise because of its
people.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton
Penguins president Jeff Barrett knew this was going to be
a good hockey market, but had
no idea how successful the
Penguins might be.
The answer came the first
day the Penguins offered season tickets, more than two
years before they were scheduled to play a game.
“We expected to get like 250
to 500 seats,” said Barrett,
then vice president of ticketing for Pittsburgh. “We got 1,500 requests the first day, 2,500
by the end of the first week
and by the spring of 1998, we
had 4,000 season-ticket deposits.
“To put things in perspective, we had no building, the
Pittsburgh Penguins were
going through some terrible financial times, the area had
never seen hockey and we led
the league in season ticket attendance.”
It was a tribute to Blaum’s
vision, the people of this area
and to Gov. Casey, who never
saw the inside of the arena he
helped to build.
“I told Mrs. Casey the day
the governor died that he was
in our building,” Blaum said.
“He finally got to see it.”
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